The qBody Project: From Lesbians in Physical Education to Queer Bodies In/Out of School

Abstract

The qBody project is a qualitative research study that aims to understand how students with “queer bodies” are impacted by heterosexism, transphobia, ableism, and fat phobia in Canadian physical education. Approximately 40 adults, who self-identified as a sexual minority, gender minority, having a physical disability, and/or socially undervalued body shape/size were interviewed about how physical education impacts their participation in, and alienation from, physical cultures later in life. This article situates the theoretical approach of the qBody project within the historical development of research into homophobia and lesbians in physical education and sport. Specifically, the article traces how postmodern theories of embodiment are transforming “lesbian studies in sport” into multidimensional studies of marginalization and normalcy—an area that might be referred to as “postmodern body studies.”

KEYWORDS:

• physical education
• embodiment
• subjectivity
• lesbians
• queer theory
• crip theory
• transgender
• fat politics

Dr. Sykes is extremely grateful to all the people who shared their perspectives and experiences during interviews for this project. She also acknowledges various contributions made by all members of the SSHRC Queer Bodies Research Team who were Tonya Callaghan, Shaindl Diamond, Tammy George, Deborah McPhail, Vanessa Russell, and Ricky Varghese. This research is based at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto in Canada, and has been funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Notes

1. The term “queer bodies” does not primarily refer to lesbian, bi, gay, trans, or queer students; rather, it refers to students who in someway experienced their body as being “queer”—somehow excluded from the normative—in physical education. Thus, “queer bodies” refers to students whose racialized gender, sex, or sexuality was regarded as non-normative, and also those who felt different due to their physical dis/ability, their body shape and size.

2. Pseudonyms are used for all the people we interviewed except one person who requested that we continue to use their real name.

3. Q refers to “questioner” or the person conducting the interview. Five members of the research team conducted interviews for The qBody Project, two of whom were people of color and three were White. As interviewers, like the participants each of us also identified with one or more of the following marginalized groups: sexual minority; gender minority; having a physical disability; or as fat/overweight. This meant that each interviewer was differently positioned, as an insider or outsider, in relation to the people they interviewed. We recognized that our different social locations—especially in terms of racialization, fatness, and non-heterosexuality—profoundly affected who we were able to interview and, subsequently, how the interview unfolded. In this article, for convenience, we use ‘Q’ to refer to all the interviewers although we acknowledge each interview was shaped by each individual interviewer's positionality and experience.